Post by Cindy on Jan 21, 2006 5:06:19 GMT -5

This is the episode that was submitted for Bruce Willis to win his Emmy. What do you think? Was this Bruce's best performance ever on Moonlighting? What was Emmy worthy in this episode in your opinion?

Post by queensgirl on Jan 21, 2006 7:37:06 GMT -5

Yes, this was his best performance on the show. There are quite a few others for which either one of them rightly should have won, but this exceeds pretty much anything else I've seen them do.

We begin this episode with poor Dave recovering from maybe the worst night of his life. (Before the one in this episode, that is ) When Maddie shows up, she feeds him that line of horsefeathers about Oh, nothing happened, boring night, saw my old friend, blah blah blah. And David knows that at least some of this is not true. But he doesn't call her out on it, in fact he can't, because then she'd know that he was following her around. He is trapped. He has to pretend that he doesn't know anything and that nothing is wrong. Meanwhile, everything is. His world is falling apart.

Even now, he tries to deny it, joking and not wanting to say why he's interested in what happens to them, but everyone else can see it telegraphed over his face. (Funny thing about Agnes and Bert, they always catch on to what's under the surface for our two heroes.)

So he invites himself to the dinner. And he decides that finally, come hell or high water, those words are going to pass his lips, and damn the consequences.

You are so happy for him when he scoots over to the table. He's going to say it! Ooh!

David starts blushing and stammering like a schoolboy. He looks happier than he's ever been. Scared, too, but we know the reason why he's there.

Maddie can't for the life of her figure out what is going on. What are you doing here? But David just keeps barreling on.

And then he starts to say it. I have come to a conclusion. I realized that--

And Sam comes back to the table.

Let me tell you, I literally yelled and doubled over off the chair.

But Sam probably remembers him from the other night. Oh, what's this wiseguy doing here?

You. With the flowers. Again.

And you're asking about my woman.

Trouble.

What happens next is amazing to watch in its own right.

They plow through an exhausting conversation that everybody pretends is funny, but is sheer hate and agony under the surface. None of them can leave or actually start an open fight, because that would be too obvious, not to mention get them in trouble in public. No. They have to stay where the bear trap sprung.

Sam in a passive-aggressive stroke of genius decides to let David have enough rope with which to hang himself. I could never before figure out why he lets him keep drinking. Notice Sam hardly has anything. David progressively makes himself look like worse and worse of a fool in front of Maddie.

That's precisely the point.

David winds up utterly in his cups, while Sam is barely troubled, and Maddie is similarly clean. Dave tries to joke; he tries to talk about college, about work, about his past, and it all crashes directly into a wall. Sam is better than him on everything. He can't even buy the round with his credit card.

And then Sam gets to drive him home.

Total, abject failure on every front.

One of the worst fights between the two men, without a punch being tossed.

Then there's the trip home. Poor David can't even make it down the hallway of his own building, and has to be thrown into bed by his rival. Contrast that with the last view of Sam, who gets to spend the night quite comfortable and happy, in Maddie's arms.

Could it have been done better? Could anybody else claim to have put forward a more realistic portrayal of the heart of their character? Made you feel precisely what he was feeling in that moment?

Post by mlbestshowever on Jan 21, 2006 11:10:08 GMT -5

In my opinion this really IS one of Bruce`s best perfomances in the whole show. And he sure deserved the Emmy for that. But there are also two other episodes where he really gives a great performance too so I can´t really decide which one is his BEST performance for me. I think there are several performances of equal quality and intensitiy where you just have to feel with him so much and can understand how he feels so well b/c his playing is so intense and realistic.The first performance I have to mention is throughout the episode "Witness for the execution" when he thinks he murdered someone and wants to go underground. The other one is of course the scene on the plane with Maddie`s father in "Father knows last" and his speech about his love for Maddie and that he would give up his life for her. This is so intense that I get goosebumps all over when I see it. Especially how the two men try to avoid the talking about their feelings on the plane where you are stuck in a small space and can´t get out of reach of the other and how one of them keeps going back to the other one`s seat.So all of the episodes mentioned are Bruce`s best performances for me.

Sorry that I can`t really explain very well why my point of view in the discussions but its always hard to discuss feelings and issues in a foreign language...

Post by ryangie97 on Jan 21, 2006 15:12:23 GMT -5

Bruce certainly did deserve an emmy for this ep. Absolutely brilliant. Next I would also say Witness for the Execution. The first scene in Maddie's bedroom, WOW. He was just wonderful. I believe that was his best performance on the show up to that point. I also think he was emmy worthy for Big Man.